First point:
In reference to moral accountability I should have been clear
that all the atheists I *know* personally are accountable people.
That was definitely an oversight on my part to leave
that point out.
Glenn Morton wrote:
<<
This is one of the things that has come more into focus during my ex-pat
assignment here in Scotland. There is a very tiny group of people who go to
church here each Sunday. Something like 2% (maybe M. B. Roberts can give
more firm figures). But one thing I have noticed is that life here in an
a-religious UK is not that much different than life in the religious US. The
crime is lower, here in the Aberdeen area. Do we have theives? Of course,
but not as many as in Houston, or at least they are less active. Like the
US, the UK has its share of mass murderers (a guy was convicted of killing
lots of women just the other day) and they have some wierd doctor here at
Alder Hey hospital who had an interesting hobby of keeping children's
organs after they died. He kept thousands of them. But the US has lots of
mass murderers, and wierdos like that doctor. People like Richard Specht,
John Wayne Gacy, Jeffrey Dahmer etc. But all in all, life is pretty much
the same here. It causes me to question the relatively common consensus
that life would be different without God. To outward appearances, there
isn't much God here. You live in Japan, a place where there are very few
christians. Do people run around acting like they have no accountability
there?
>>
It is true that there are few Japanese Christians. However, that does not
mean that Japanese are not religious people. There is a Shinto shrine right
next door and I can see it from my window. I walk by one very large temple
and two minature shrines on my way to the train station. The propensity for
new religions in Japan is still strong even after the Aum church of [errrr]
Truth (the perpetrators of the subway gas attack). So in terms of propensity
toward religious faith, I think Japan is little different than the US.
However.... (please read further).....
<<
The sad thing I have come to realize over the past 6 months here is how
little difference Christianity makes to the fabric of the US culture when
compare with an a-religious culture like this.
>>
Then again, how religious is the country of Japan? In reference to a
very regretable incident in Shinokubo about a week and a half ago, my
Japanese teacher said: "Busshitsu teki ni yutaka no ni, kokoro mazushiku"
Rich in things, poor in heart. I think that summarizes the US, UK,
and Japan in a nutshell.
This is not just the deeds done, it is also the deeds *not* done. There
must have been at least 100 people standing on the train platform in
Shinokubo at 8 pm in the evening. A thoroughly drunk man falls down
onto the tracks. Another Japanese person at least did try to get the
the guy off the tracks, and a Korean *foreign* student also tried to help.
Unfortunately, they were all killed by the oncoming train. Now, everywhere
on those train platforms there are "hijou teishi" (emergency stop) buttons
and even *this* foreigner can read what they are used for. You would think
that at least 1 out of those 100 people (who can read Japanese quite well)
might just have thought to push that thing. No one bothered. It wasn't
their problem. It wasn't their business.
Now let me stress that this is *not* a phenomena unique to Japan. I've
seen it enough times in the US and I am sure it happens a lot in the UK.
I cannot help but ask myself if I would like join that shameful crowd of
fools who stand like blockheads doing nothing, or if I would hear the Lord
and move. I have no idea! but I'm pinning my faith on that word of God
written on my heart, that it will move me from that idiotic boob tube
stare (just another TV drama) to action.
As for murder, there is definitely less murder. Generally speaking,
as long as you don't visit certian kinds of places or get involved
with certain kinds of people, there are not so many problems with
directly experiencing crime here. Weirdness, well, hmm... it depends.
I had written
>It is possible that life is mere probabilities, frivolous chance,
>and in the flicker of a moment, lost into the vast oblivion of
>cosmic nothingness. A "tale told by an idiot with sound and
>flurry signifying nothing". No accountability. I can bump off
>all my enemies if I have the opportunity and have a good plan.
>If I have enough power, I can just take what I want. Why not
>simply have it all? Just learn some game theory, and
>life is set... and when it's gone, what use is it anyway?
Actually, my main point in saying this.... was not to rant about
atheism & co. but I really wonder what would prevent me from thinking
this way. Not that I would chose to do so. No atheist I know
personally has said this either. In fact, just dusting off that
history book on the shelf, I think the whole folly of the Church
during the reformation is an example of lack of accountability to
God. Even the Church!
However, whether or not the Church acts accountable for its deed,
the message of the Bible is that we *are* in fact accountable whether
we acknowledge the Lord or not. We have been warned. We have the prophets.
If I am wrong, then people like Hitler are just as much a part
of the vast oblivion of nothingness as Mother Theresa and both
lived quite meaningless lives, just as my own life whatever
it will ultimately be would be meaningless.
I think a universe without purpose would be quite uninteresting.
Am I supposed to get excited about new discoveries in a home that
popped out of nothing? Even if *we* (the human race) are nothing
to that purpose, a mere speck in a vast sea, I would rather be
shoveling manure in a universe with meaning, than be a Bertrand
Russell in a universe devoid of purpose.
By Grace we do proceed,
Wayne
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